by Diana Nixon
“I wasn’t going to tell them anything,” Marion replied. “As I have already said, I was just Dominic’s personal guardian. He never asked me about the Cup, and I never said a word about it. I didn’t want him to find the Cup. It would be a disaster.”
“Well, that’s one heck of a story!” I said, shocked. “So you have been trying to protect my father from… himself? 'Cause if the Cup of power was his, it would destroy him, wouldn’t it?”
“Yes, Evan. You are right. Only a woman knows how to use the Cup and only she knows how to get more power with its help. Any man trying to use the Cup, loses his inner energy. And the one who will try to get the Cup’s power, will pay for his foolishness with his life.”
“I wonder if Eric knew about that?” Eileen asked curiously.
The truth suddenly burst upon me. All the missing parts of a puzzle we had been trying to resolve for so long, took their places.
“We all have been stung!” I said aloud. “Alexis used a subjecting spell to poison Eric’s mind against us. Maybe she even promised to make the Cup work for him. She was buying time, but what for?”
“Maybe her own powers were not enough to become a real Cup’s keeper,” Marion supposed. “And that’s why she needed Nora’s life energy.”
“Of course! How could we have missed that!” I said, recalling some obvious details of a set-up. “It was so damn simple! Do you remember, Eileen, that Alexis never left Dever during the last Festival, though she knew we were going to take Nora to London? All the time she had been trying to be in the public eye, she wanted us to seize her, because it was the only way to get to Nora and steal her energy. And when the Keepers came, she pretended to be running away, but in fact, her arrest was the only thing she really wanted.”
“Yeah.” Eileen nodded, frowning. “But what was the reason for pulling the wool over our eyes?” she asked, puzzled. “Why did she make Eric kidnap Christian?”
“Now, I know why,” Marion said. “She needed a conductor to take someone’s power with the Cup’s help, because the Cup would never pass the power directly to its owner. So as it was created by the woman, the conductor could be only someone having something very important for every woman. And that is….”
“Love,” Eileen said quietly, finishing her sentence.
“Exactly!” Marion nodded. “Who has the strongest love ever?” She proceeded reasoning. “Only those who were bound by the Vinculum amorisempri spell. And in this case Alexis has chosen the best candidate for the conductor, because among other things Christian is directly connected with the desired source of energy which is you, Eileen,” she said, looking at my friend. “That’s what her plan was.”
“God!” Eileen groaned. She sat on the couch and took a deep breath. “So what shall we do next?”
“Nothing,” Marion replied. “Just keep doing what you have been doing up until today. Alexis shouldn’t find out that we know the truth. Actually, the fact that now we know about her plans doesn’t change anything about our own plans. We still have to find Christian and then we will think how to protect both of you. And there's one more thing…” She paused, watching Eileen and me with a warning in her eyes. “We can’t tell anyone about this conversation. Got it?”
“I agree.” I nodded. “The less people know, the better. If we tell our friends from Dever, the information can easily reach Alexis. As we know that even the air has its ears.”
“Okay, but we can’t sit back and do nothing,” Eileen said. “We need a new plan.”
“I think I’ve got one!” Marion smiled mysteriously.
After hearing her proposal, Eileen and I realized that we could never have come up with anything better. Now we were Marion Blanche’s associates!
There were just a few days left to turn our plans into reality. We had to finish our business in France, get back to Britain and find several dozens of some rare plants that we would need in the future. The last part was the hardest one, as all those plants grew in very creepy places. Marion was accompanying us everywhere, so we gained time to scrutinize the maps of the surroundings.
Visiting some old godforsaken cemeteries, a dozen ancient manors and a damn hundred of underground caves, we came back home around midnight, exhausted and dirty.
“I would have never thought that there are so many caves in the forest!” Eileen said, shaking her boots free of mud.
“Uh, there are so many secrets hidden in those places!” Marion commented, taking off her jacket. “For centuries they had been inhabited by the people inventing new traps for their enemies. They were obsessed with the idea of being haunted. Though sometimes their ideas don’t seem crazy at all. Especially now, when I’m helping you,” she added, laughing.
“You don’t regret helping us, do you?” Eileen asked.
“I don’t regret anything, dear. I always wanted to help people. Even when my actions contradicted my beliefs.”
“Actually, we are really happy to have you on our side,” I said, smiling. “I don’t even know what we would have done without you! Maybe got stuck somewhere in the middle of all those endless secrets. Who knows?”
“I hope that next time you will come here without any specific reason. I will always be glad to host you in my house,” Marion said with a big grin. “Now, we have one more thing to do tonight. Remember? Eileen, do you still need a sleeping pill?”
“I think I will pass out barely seeing my pillow,” she said, suppressing a yawn.
“Good. So Evan and I will wait here, we have some things to discuss. And you go to your room and try to relax and fall asleep.”
Eileen nodded in response and headed for the stairs.
“Let’s drink some tea, Evan,” Marion said.
“I’m game,” I replied, following her to the kitchen. I needed to warm up after our hours-long walk and I wanted to talk to her in private.
“Is everything all right, Evan? You look nervous,” Marion said, noticing my anxiety.
“I’m not sure. Actually, I wanted to talk to you about Eileen.” I hesitated. “I don’t know why, but I think she’s hiding something from me. Though, I don’t see anything suspicious in her aura. I just have this strange feeling here,” I said, pointing to my heart. “Have you noticed anything suspicious about her behavior? Or maybe she told you something?”
“Eileen is worried about you, Evan,” Marion replied, taking two cups from her cupboard. “She never leaves you for a moment, being scared that something bad would happen to you. But I don’t think it’s weird. It’s natural. It’s her problem you are trying to resolve now. Despite the fact that you and Christian are best friends and you want to find him too, everything you do, you do for her first of all, don’t you?”
“You are right. Partially,” I said thoughtfully. “I have lost people I loved before. Eileen is more like a sister to me, but I can’t lose her too. I can’t let anything happen to her. I can’t let her down. And I don’t know why, but I think if I help her to bring her normal life back, I will help myself to fix my own messed up life as well. I will find my own happiness.”
“Yes, Evan, this is what you need to do,” Marion said watching me curiously. “You are on the right path, my boy. But I want you to remember that until Eileen and you are on the same path, she will go till the end, she will never stop at anything.”
I frowned, wondering what exactly Marion meant, but I didn’t ask any more questions. There was no more tea in my cup and I realized that it was time to see Eileen.
By the time we entered her room, she was deeply asleep. Wishing me good luck with my new journey, Marion stepped aside, leaving me alone near Eileen’s bed. As well as with my own memories, I had to use a mirror to pierce into Eileen’s dream. To my great surprise, this time it was much easier. I didn’t know if it was due to the fact that I was going to intrude into a dream with its owner’s permission, or due to the fact that now I knew what, and how it should be done, but a few moments later the gray fog disappeared and I found myself standing in my room
at Dever.
Eileen was there too. She was standing next to the couch where Christian fell asleep the night of his disappearance. She was making some notes on a piece of paper. I wondered what she was writing there, so I came closer. Piercing into someone’s dreams had one huge advantage – you could always stay invisible. Looking into Eileen’s notes, I read a few words: the casket, the window and the song. The words themselves were meaningless, but Eileen looked very concentrated, as if she knew something I didn’t. Then she added one more word – silver. The last thing baffled me completely. But it was just a dream and her writing could mean anything, couldn’t it? The only thing that still bothered me was her presence in my room… I stayed there a few more minutes, but nothing interesting happened.
Leaving her alone with her strange thoughts, I decided to get back to reality. Unlike my own memories, Eileen’s dream was filled with bright colors and light, as if she was excited, waiting for something good to happen.
As well as the way to her dream, my way back was fast. Barely closing my eyes and thinking about Marion’s house, I found myself standing near the sleeping Eileen again.
“It worked!” Marion whispered happily, running up to me.
“It was as simple as anything.” I shrugged.
“Good, come with me.” Marion waved, heading for the door. “Let Eileen sleep.”
We went into the hall, closing the door quietly behind us.
“Okay, so what did you see there?” she asked impatiently, taking a few steps away from the bedroom.
“Eileen’s dream was nonsense,” I replied in a whisper. “She was in my room at Dever, making some notes.”
“What were those notes about?”
“Uh, there were just a few words, like the window, the casket, silver and something else… oh, right – the song.”
“Sounds strange,” Marion said thoughtfully. “But the main thing is that now you know how to pierce into the dreams,” she added. “Did Eileen see you?”
“No, I stayed invisible.”
“Okay. But we still have a small problem – Eric will never let you pierce into his dream and it means you can stay there forever. What, in turn, means that we have to come up with something to bring you back here.”
Chapter 10. A Trick
Eileen
The first ray of the morning sun slipping shamelessly through the curtains, was getting on my nerves. It longed to tickle my eyelids that still didn’t want to open. A few hours of troubled sleep put me out of my stride and now I felt absolutely shattered. It looked like Marion was right about our morning walk to the waters – I needed a good recharge.
I got out of my bed grumblingly and cursing everyone in the world I dragged myself to the bathroom. I brushed my teeth and tried to gather my messy hair into a ponytail, then I put any old thing on and went to the kitchen.
To my surprise it was empty, so I turned on the electric kettle and reclined on a small couch, hoping to ease my aching limbs with a horizontal position. But as soon as my head touched the pillow I regretted everything. My body still demanded a good sleep I couldn’t provide it with. I tried to cheat myself by closing my eyes with one hand, but nothing worked. I felt even worse, I couldn’t fall back asleep and I couldn’t make myself do anything useful.
“I’m a hopeless, sleepy piece of shit,” I mumbled. Thank God, Evan wasn’t there to tell me off for swearing. Finally deciding to stop feeling sorry for myself, I got up and made a cup of coffee.
Taking the last gulp of my drink I felt Evan’s presence and without turning around I said, “Be quiet, I have a horrible headache.”
“Okay. But I can’t but admit how damn sexy you look in my sweater,” he whispered into my ear.
“Your what?” I asked, puzzled, turning to see his smiling face.
“My sweater, dear,” he repeated, taking my almost empty cup. “The one you are wearing at the moment,” he added, pointing to my outfit. I looked down at myself and gasped.
“Aw heck!” I groaned, realizing that any old thing turned out to be Evan’s sweater. Thank God, it was big enough to cover a good half of my body. “What the hell were your clothes doing in my room?”
“I have no idea. I must have left them there accidently last night,” he added with a chuckle. “Do you always dress without looking in the mirror?” he asked, taking a bite of a chocolate croissant.
“Uh, just shut up, Evan!” I snapped. “I feel like hell, and your stupid jokes are not helping! I’ve been tossing and turning all the night, and now… wait a minute, were you in my dream last night?”
“Yes, but not for very long. You were fully dressed, and I was bored, so I got back pretty soon.”
“Very funny, Evan.” I grimaced. “So it worked?”
“Of course, it did! I’m here, which means that I haven’t gotten stuck in your head, right?”
“Right, smart ass,” I muttered, rolling my eyes. “Where did you get so much enthusiasm? No, don’t answer.” I shook my head, knowing he wouldn’t say anything good. “I’m sure I don’t want to know. I’d better go get changed,” I said, looking again at my oversized dress. “Do you want to go to the waters with me?” I asked on the way to my room.
“It depends on what you are going to dress in instead of this,” he said with a grin, eyeing me from top to toe.
“I’ll be back in a minute,” I said, trying to ignore his scoff.
“Naah, not gonna happen,” he added sarcastically. “You are not up to speed today."
“You have nerve!” I hissed quietly through my teeth. How could I be so worried about his life! I shook my head in disbelief. Sometimes he could be such a jerk!
Rushing to my room and deciding not to give Evan any more reasons to get on my nerves, I changed quickly into a pair of jeans and my sweater and ran back to the kitchen.
Evan was still drinking his coffee, leisurely turning the pages of a paper. “Yes, Eileen, there’s no need to hurry, move as slowly as you can,” he said. “I had enough time to re-read this paper twice!”
“Give me a break, Evan!” I snapped, throwing his sweater across the room.
“What’s going down?” he asked, catching it on the fly.
Taking a deep breath, I smiled sweetly and said, "You better not piss me off."
“Now, you scare me,” he commented, still smiling. “Okay, okay, I promise to behave myself. I swear!”
I shook my head in response, knowing that his promise would last no more than a few minutes. Thus we declared a temporary truce and went to the waters.
Unlike Evan I hadn’t been there before.
“Does it really work?” I asked him.
“What?”
“Well, the power of waters, the energy and the stuff?”
“Of course, it does! You will feel it all in a few minutes. I doubted too, until yesterday morning proved otherwise.”
“Can I ask you something about your memories?” I said, hesitating. I didn’t know if Evan wanted to discuss his past with me.
“Since when do you need my permission to ask questions?”
“Since now.”
“Okay, go ahead.” He nodded.
“Why was your last memory about me?”
“Hmm… it’s a good question. I don’t know. Maybe because after seeing so many bad things I needed to see something good as well. Something that I never wanted to forget about. And the day of our first meeting was one of my best memories; maybe that’s why my conscience switched to it. In addition, I was ready to get back home and I knew you were the one who would help me.”
“I see.” I nodded, still thinking about his reply.
“Why did you ask me about that?”
“No reason.” I shrugged.
Suddenly Evan asked, “Did you hear that? The waters. We are close.”
I couldn’t see the waters themselves, but I could feel their energy. And it was incredible. I couldn’t find the words to describe the power radiating around us, as if everything in me was coming to l
ife. All my senses became stronger and all the colors seemed brighter. Everything was magical: the sound of the running river, the birds' songs, the flavours of multicolored flowers, the rustle of the grass under our feet, the sky with its white flying clouds, the trees with dancing leaves and the energy bursting through my veins.
But the most amazing thing was the song of the wind, playing with my curls and touching my lips with tender kisses:
"You are like a bird, hovering over the oceans,
Spreading your wings proudly in the sky;
You are like a sun, waking up in a flowing motion,
Blinding all the thoughts and the senses of mine.
You are like a heaven in the cloudless night,
Making the stars shine all over the world;
You are my true love and my pure delight,
A river of fire and flames, interlaced with the cold.
You are a soul that was dead before I met you,
But seeing you for the first time,
I was awakened by something catching,
Something wonderful and full of life.
There was something special inside you
I still can’t forget about,
And I know that no matter what happens,
We will never be able to stay apart.
Now I know that forever means nothing,
Every day, every night, every dream
I give myself to the one I’m missing
With every heartbeat and every silent scream."
“Hey, you okay?” Evan asked, seeing my frozen posture. The moment his words reached my mind, the voice in my head disappeared and the song stopped. I blinked and looked at him, wondering if he had seen anything suspicious in my behavior.
“Yeah, I’ve never felt better,” I said, hiding my eyes so as not to let him see my tears. “You were right. Everything here is filled with magic.”
“So you can feel it too?” Evan asked, squinting his eyes as if trying to see through my skin. And sometimes I thought he could really do that. “Yesterday, when I was here alone I couldn’t believe myself. I’ve never felt anything like this before! Have you ever heard about such a natural phenomenon?”